You Found Me
by ONiONLADi777
Summary: Before the tears and the heartbreak, before the party and the carelessness, they somehow found each other underneath a tree, on one crisp, autumn day. .axel x demyx. .prequel to still in love with you.
1. Chapter 1

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 1  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication:** to everyone who reviewed for "Still In Love With You"! You all were the ones to inspire me to continue telling this story that I love so much :) Thank you!!  
..»**HEY YOU STOP! **Don't read any further unless you've read the original "Still In Love With You" story. If you read through this whole thing without reading that one first, you will be sorely disappointed and sad. Don't look at me like that. It's only 10 chapters. Quit your snivelling. But for those of you who _have _read it, enjoy :) This story is for you.

* * *

"Get up, boy. Time for school."

The boy in question dove back under his pillow, strugging to quickly wipe away his tears. He braced himself for what was about to come next, praying as he did every morning that he would wake up and this would all be a dream. That he would wake up and he would be eleven years old again and his mother would be cooking breakfast in the kitchen and everything was okay again.

It was when he felt the belt on his back burning and ripping that he realized he was awake.

When his father had finished his morning ritual, the redhead dragged himself out of his temporary santuary of his bed. Gripping onto whatever was within arm's reach, he limped his way into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He wasn't sure how long it would keep his father out.

He hearly collapsed against the sink, gripping onto it for support. His breath came in quick, jagged gasps and pants. Timidly, he glanced up at his reflection and was horrified by what he saw. Dark circles rimmed his blood-shot eyes. Knots and gnarly tangles had claimed his hair. There was a blue and black bruise adorning one of his cheeks. Instead of a healthy tan, his skin was ivory as a ghost.

But what shocked him the most was how he didn't think much of it.

With a weak grip, he barely turned on the warm water and splashed his face with it generously. Ah, that was better. Yawning, he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to make himself look less corpse-like. He fought with his unruly and jungle-like hair with a comb and brush, until it looked some-what healthy and knot-free. He sighed, glancing at the unsightly bruise from the night before. It would have to do.

After changing his clothes, he noticed a loud rumbling in his stomach. With a heavy sigh, he headed for the kitchen. He drowned out his father's cursing and drinking and verbal assault as he scoured the kitchen for some food. In the recent year or so, he had lost a considerable amount of weight due to the lack of food in his house. He wasn't surprised to find nothing but his father's alcohol, cleverly stored on the kitchen counter for all to see.

To prevent further incidents with the man he called his father, the adolescent grabbed his backpack and headed off for the bus stop. He didn't care that it was raining, he didn't care that he would be waiting there for over half a hour, he didn't care that he didn't care. These past years had numbed him to feeling barely a thing, if any emotion was left inside of him at all.

He found himself a nice, dry spot underneath a large oak tree by the curb. The sound of the cars rushing by was comforting in a way; it was constant, unchanging, peaceful, the way his life had once been. Thinking about that time nearly cracked the ice that had formed around his heart--almost. He doubted if there was anything or anyone in this world who could make him feel even a sliver of happiness. That involved the whole messy trusting thing, something he had lost a fondness for. He'd remember the scars on his back and the bruises adorning his limbs and wonder if anyone could be nice to another human being.

A few times he caught himself dosing off; sleep was hard to come by these days. He would awaken in a cold sweat, glancing about his room wildly for signs of his father ready to strike. A few times, his paranoia had not been in vain. But for the most part, it was. The constant fear he had lived with for almost three years had kept him awake at night, and for nothing. In his room, in the santuary of sleep, he was (for the most part) safe from reality. It was there he could forget about the anger and the hurt and the pain and just be normal, if only for a little while.

As evil as the place was, school provided safety. In the mornings before he went to class, his best friend was always there, and always showed him the only source of kindess in his life. For the most part, that was when they called around to lawyers and attorneys and whatnot (usually leaving messages, since their offices typically weren't open before the sun came up). He had began to think it was useless, that his case was so typical and everyone had begun to ignore it.

He allowed himself to sleep on the bus. He always sat in the last seat in the back, where no one could sneak up on him from behind. And that quite guy with that impossibly purple hair sat next to him. They never spoke to ear other or even looked at each other. It had been the same for the past three months of school, and it worked out fine. They always had a seat in the mornings and afternoons, and were spared the awkwardness of sitting next to someone new each day.

As he stepped off the bus, his hood pulled tightly over his head, he remembered he would have to show him the bruise. Those blue eyes of his never missed a thing. He couldn't express the gratitude and appreciation he felt for his blonde best friend. He woke up early in the morning and had convinced his mom he was doing a tutor session each day at the high school before going to the middle school down the street. His kindness was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and wasn't willing to let it go for anything.

The short eighth grader was standing in his usual spot in front of the media center. He was leaning against the same pole he did every morning. As he walked up to him, there was a noticeable difference in the older one. In the faint morning light, he could see blue and black hidden beneath the black hood of his friend's jacket. The blue and black bruise covered his taller friend's cheek.

With a gasp and wide eyes, Roxas whispered, "Axel...what happened?"

Axel opened his eyes and looked at his best friend miserably. "...everything..."

* * *

"Demyx, will you _turn that down!_ I'm trying _not_ to crash into every other driver!"

The younger blonde rolled his eyes and ignored his brother. He said that every morning, and every single time they arrived to school in one piece. Honestly, he didn't know why he dealt with his pessimisstic brother all the time. If something could go wrong, his brother was on it and expecting it to happen. With an evil smirk, he reached over a turned the music up ever-so slightly.

The bleached-blonde glared at him. "I said turn it _down_, not _up_!"

Demyx rolled his eyes again and looked out the window at the world passing by. Luxord, grumbling to himself about how he should never drive Demyx to school ever again, leaned over and turned the music off altogether. Demyx suspected the reason that Luxord hated music so much was he had never been able to pick up on it, as Demyx had and their parents' had. Luxord always had to be the best at everything, and when he quickly discovered he hadn't inherited the muscial gene flowing through his family, he had sworn off music entirely. Anytime Demyx would start singing, he'd turn the radio off in the car or go for a drive somewhere when his younger brother picked up his guitar.

Demyx wasn't clearly able to remember his parents; he was so young when they died that car accident. He had been too young to really understand, and he had thought they had gone on a vacation and were never coming back. Eventually, he had faced reality, but he wasn't really saddened by the fact. After all, he hadn't known them, not really. Luxord hadn't, either, but their oldest brother Cloud had been able to. Demyx thought the pain had just become too much for him, and when he left about two years ago, he never came back. He called every once in a while, but never actually came back. Maybe that was because he had been the only one to survive the crash that night.

Since then, the uncontrollable blonde had been under the supervision of his middle brother, Luxord. As far as "guardians" go, Luxord wasn't terrible; he made sure the bills were paid for, there was food in the house, and drove Demyx all around town to work, school, music stores, and generally everywhere else he wanted to go.

...but the one thing Demyx wanted more than anything, something he couldn't find in Luxord, was someone who would just sit there and actually _listen_ to the music Demyx made. Maybe even someone who would hum along. Luxord always left whenever Demyx started playing or singing to himself, and always felt like it sounded horrible to everyone but him. If there was someone, anyone in the world who would just listen, Demyx would be happy.

Luxord finally turned into the school, and parked his car in his spot. With an impatient sigh, Demyx climbed out of the car and headed for the school. Along the way, he saw a slender, quiet boy with purplish hair and his nose stuck in a book. He smiled, and silently sneaked up behind him. The violet-haired one felt a strange breath on his shoulder, and slowly turned around, breaking into a soft smile.

"Hello, Demyx," Zexion said pleasantly. "How was your morning?"

Demyx shrugged. "Eh, okay. Luxord turned the radio off as usual. I swear, he just needs to get over that stupid music-hating streak."

"Old habits die hard, I suppose," his best friend replied. He had stuffed his book away in his backpack, which was overflowing with numerous pieces of literature and the immense amount of school supplies for his gazillion AP classes. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have to go to the media center. Some teacher or another wants me to compose another letter..."

"Geez, again?" Demyx tried his hardest to ignore the disappointment in his voice. Zexion would _occasionally_ listen, and _occasionally_ it helped Demyx feel better, but he was usually too wrapped up in his books. "This is what, the fifth time this year?"

Zexion nodded. "I think teachers have, ironically, forgotten all of their intelligence and are relying on their students."

The pair parted ways and Demyx found himself a bench outside of the media center. With caution and love, he removed his guitar from its case and closed it. With a hint of low confidence, he rested the stringed instrument on his knee and took the neck into his hand. Slowly, carefully, gently, he began strumming back and forth with his bright green pick.

* * *

"Roxas, let's just give up. It's hopeless. Besides, you need to get to school before you pass out."

Axel's small blonde friend looked up at him helplessly, and was about to protest, when he said, "...I think I need a break for today. But don't think we're done, Axel. We're going to see this through to the end."

"Whatever you say, Roxas..." Axel gathered his paper and pens and ripped the phone book out of Roxas's hands. He received a scowl in response, but ignored it as his friend sleepily gathered his stuff. Once outside, the two friends parted ways, Roxas heading off for the middle school where he would find a nice warm spot in the band room to sleep. A soundproof room would be good.

Axel pulled his hood back over his head, stalking off towards the courtyard where he would sit disinterestedly as his friends on the soccer team prattled on about practice the day before. He was trudging along miserably, when, suddenly, a soft, euphonious melody floating though the air. Slowly, he stopped, and looked around for the source of the music. He found himself closing his eyes and humming along, even though he didn't know the tune in the slightest bit, and felt himself _smile_.

Demyx strummed the final notes of the song, sighing softly to himself. Maybe one day, someone would listen.

That day was today.

* * *

..»**A/N:** Well, hereee it is :) As always, reviews are your friends :) Let me know what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 2  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication:** to Fangirl-16, because she fell out of her chair for this story and even lived to review it. Thank you :)

* * *

"Hey, Axel! Wait up!"

The redhead turned around to see Riku running towards him, his best friend next to Roxas. He had known Riku since they were kids; they had been put on the same county soccer team, and had been friends since. Riku still played soccer, meanwhile Axel had dropped it after he got into high school. Since the summer, Riku had been trying to get Axel to come back, insisting he was the best player in the county, but he said no every time.

"Oh, hey, Riku," Axel said, feigning interest. He could have sworn he heard the bus calling him from the bus loop.

"Hey, Axel, listen," his silver-haired friend said, his aquamarine eyes glittering. "You absolutely _have _to come with me. You, me, and Sora were invited to play in the varsity soccer game next Thursday, and conditioning starts today."

Say what?"

"..._how_?" Axel asked, his eyebrows knitting together. "I haven't played soccer since the season ended in eighth grade."

"I have no idea," Riku replied. "I think it might be because I put a good word in for you. And Leon pulled a few strings...Anyway, you absolutely _have _to come."

"I...I can't. I have to get home," Axel lied, trying to resist making a mad dash for the bus. "Besides, I don't even have cleats or shin guards."

"I have an extra pair."

"I don't know, Riku," the redhead replied. The big yellow school bus infested with germs and probably home to a deadly bacteria looked more and more friendly each second. "I have a lot of homework, and I have a bus to catch--"

"Come on, Axel," his silver-haired friend sighed, exasperated. "You can't say you don't have time or any of the other shit you try to pull."

The redhead looked over at his friend annoyed. "Riku, seriously. If I miss the bus again, my dad will kill me. I'm not even kidding."

"Don't worry, Leon's giving all of us a ride," Riku replied. Leon was the star player of the varsity soccer team; he also happened to be Riku's cousin...somehow. Axel wasn't exactly sure on the details there. "Just _one_ hour, Axel. Freshmen are _never_ asked to play on the varsity team. You can't tell me you don't have the time."

Axel looked over at his best friend of almost ten years. He had been begging Axel to stick around for a small game of soccer for _months_, and Axel had said no every time. But today was completely different. Axel wasn't even _on_ the freshmen soccer team, and he had been asked along with Riku to try out for the varsity team. Axel thought about the last time he had even touched a soccer ball, and couldn't remember when that was. Defeated, he gave in, figuring it couldn't do any harm.

"...okay. Just this once."

His silver-haired friend smiled a satisfied grin. Before Axel had the chance to back out, he was surrounded by members of the freshmen soccer team who had formed a circle around him, preventing him from leaving. With a heavy sigh, he followed Riku and the circle of soccer players to the locker room.

Axel was surprised by how happy pulling on a borrowed pair of cleats made him. He had borrowed a pair from Riku, who scraped up an extra pair of shin guards and stole, er, _borrowed_ some shorts meant to be sold to the varsity team. As he fastened his shin guards and tied his shoes, Axel was overwhelmed by the sense of relief he felt. Maybe it was because it reminded him of when things were okay, back when his mom was still in the picture and his dad wasn't drunk off his ass every second of the day. Out of the corner of his eye, Riku was watching his long-time friend and caught him smiling once or twice. He smiled to himself and remained silent.

For the first time in a long time, Axel was actually relaxed and happy. He laughed at the stupid pirate jokes Riku's boyfriend, Sora, kept telling over and over, even when Riku and Leon both hit him over the head and told him to stop encouraging him. While there actually wasn't anything all that funny to laugh at, Axel couldn't help it. He'd sneak up behind his best friend of many years and grab the ball when he was sure Leon was about to take it, earning a very surprised and confused look from everyone else. He knew then that Riku had been right.

With a laugh, Riku stole the ball back from Axel and kicked it, sending it sailing over Axel's head. The redhead watched it fly, as it headed straight towards the blonde sitting under the large oak tree.

"Hey! _Watch out_!"

* * *

Demyx hummed happily to himself, walking along in the sunshine as browned leaves rustled past him on the ground. He was really more excited than he should have been; someone had the brilliant idea of snaking a hose into the school's indoor pool and, somehow, the entire thing had overflowed. It had been estimated that it would take up to two weeks to drain all of the water, refill the pool and properly chlorinate it, and eliminate any water damage done to the floor and walls. While the thought of his first major swim meet in less than a month terrified him, he couldn't help being excited over practice being cancelled until another pool was found to practice in.

Since Luxord was the fancy shmancy president of some club or another (Demyx couldn't remember for the life of him what it was), he was stuck here for another good hour or so. He figured he could find a nice shady spot somewhere, perferably under a tree, and play his guitar until Luxord called him in a huff as he always did.

Behind the monstrosity that was their high school was an enormous field with a small playground far to the back and trees randomly growing in every which way. There was a small group of what Demyx assumed to be soccer players kicking a soccer ball back and forth, but he could avoid them easily. Closer to the school was a large oak tree that provided plenty of shade. Whistling softly to himself, Demyx half walked, half skipped over and sat down.

A smile still lingering on his face, he pulled his guitar out of its case and fished around in his pocket for his pick. As if holding a child, the blonde carefully arranged the instrument in his arms and across his lap. He took the neck into his left hand, his pick in his right, and slowly, softly, began to play.

"Hey! _Watch out_!"

Demyx looked suddenly up from the guitar currently in his lap. He saw a black and white soccer ball sailing through the air towards him and a tall JV player chasing after it. The ball landed on the ground with a thud, rolling towards Demyx where he was sitting and came to a stop at his feet. He bent over and picked up the wet, grassy ball and tossed it back to the person it had come from.

The only thing Demyx could think was, 'Wow.'

Standing before him was possibly the most gorgeous person he had ever seen. He was hypnotized by the tall freshman's bright green eyes that contrasted beautifully with his equally vibrant mane of unruly red hair. His skin was tanned slightly and beneath it were carefully sculpted muscles rippling with every move he made. Demyx felt his heart stop when the soccer player smiled and revealed a set of stunning white teeth.

He caught the ball easily and smiled again, waving a little at Demyx. After lingering for a moment and gazing into blue oceanic eyes, he turned and ran back towards were the soccer teams were practicing.

Demyx released a breath he didn't know he had been holding and gripped onto his guitar for support. His stomach was in knots and his legs were too weak to move. The player's eyes and smile had caused Demyx to nearly pass out right there underneath the tree where he was sitting. Suddenly a happy, sweet melody played itself out in his mind and Demyx's fingers tingled with the irrepressible ruge to play it. Returning his attention to his guitar, he took his pick in his fingers and began playing.

What surprised Demyx more than anything was the fact that a total stranger had inspired this.

* * *

..»**A/N:** I'm sorry for the shortness :( Review anyway please...?


	3. Chapter 3

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 3  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication:** to Shadowsister. Your helpful review is one of the best I've received :)

* * *

He was definitely going to be late.

Demyx slammed his locker shut and hurriedly placed the lock back in its position on the door. Not bothering to even put his binders in his unzipped backpack, Demyx ran down the halls with an armful of textbooks and binders. He was so focused on arriving to algebra on time that he wasn't paying attention to others around him, and collided with someone head-on.

It took Demyx a second to realize he had crashed into someone and that his belongings were now scattered all over the hallway floor. He immediately began collecting everything, his voice panicked as he exclaimed, "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I was in a hurry and--"

He stopped short when a hand accidentally laid itself over his as he reached for his notebook. When he looked up, his heart began to race wildly.

Staring back at him was the gorgeous soccer player from the day before.

Both blushed and looked away, mumbling apologies with embarrassed smiles on their faces. Demyx grabbed his notebook and shoved it somewhere, as well as all of his other papers and folders and pencils and random-colored sticky notes he had shoved in between pages in his textbooks. When he stood up, the player was still standing there smiling at him.

He was even more beautiful up close.

"I'm Axel," the redhead said, holding out his hand. Demyx looked at it before taking it into his and shaking it. He smiled back at him and replied, "Demyx." Axel stared into Demyx's eyes for a few seconds, before he whispered in a barely audible voice, "You have beautiful eyes, Demyx."

The blonde blushed profusely and looked at the fake tile floor beneath his feet. He shifted nervously and fidgeted with the papers and sticky notes that stuck out haphazardly from his textbooks. "Th-thank you..."

The only complete thought that passed through Axel's head was, _'He's so cute_.'

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the warning bell resounded through the hall. Demyx shrieked out of surprise and exclaimed, "I'm going to be late!" He grabbed Axel's hand and shook it vigorously. "It was really nice meeting you, Axel! Gotta go!"

Demyx rushed past him and ran down the hall. Axel turned and watched him, his smile still lingering, until he couldn't see the blonde anymore.

He somehow made it to class. He was in such a haze, he could barely remember how to walk. The memory of that blonde refused to disappear. The teacher droned on and on in the front of the room, but all Axel could think about was _him_. His pencil wandered from the notes he was supposed to be taking to one of the margins, where he started doodling. And kept doodling. Soon, he was once again looking at that beautiful, flawless face.

Underneath the drawing, so he wouldn't forget, he wrote the word _Demyx_.

At the end of the period, when he was supposed to turn in his notes, he closed his binder and kept them all to himself.

* * *

Axel whistled to himself as he threw his textbooks into his locker. He didn't know where he had heard the tune before; he just knew he had. And for some reason, it reminded him of that blonde that would not leave his mind alone. But then again, since that morning, everything was a reminder of him.

"Hey, Axel." Riku had come up next to him and was leaning against the lockers beside the redhead's. Axel replied with a friendly hello, still whistling and humming to himself. His best friend rasied a silver eyebrow, taking note of the small smile tugging at his lips. He was about to ask when he remembered what he was here for and realized he didn't have time before Axel ran off like he usually did. Instead, he asked if Axel was coming to practice and was surprised when he shook his head.

"I'm scheduled to work today," he replied with a groan. "My manager's sick or something and I haven't gotten to talk to him about changing my shifts."

Riku let out a disappointed sigh, but didn't press the matter. The two friends parted ways, and Axel began the treck down the street towards the coffee place where he worked.

* * *

Demyx glanced around. For whatever reason, getting Luxord's sushi after school always took forever. His older brother had established a tradition in his sophomore year to stop and get sushi every Wednesday afternoon. To what point and purpose was beyond Demyx. He had usually cycled through all the radio stations about three times and breezed through the tracks on a CD or two by the time Luxord emerged from the sushi place. His eyes gleaming with desperation, he glanced over at the black, white, and green emblem of the Starbucks Coffee at the end of the strip of stores. His gazed flickered back to the door of Wasabi Sushi before bursting from the car.

The second he walked in, he could taste a frappucino rushing down his throat. When he reached the register, a seemingly familiar voice called out to him and told him they'd be right there. Demyx said okay and was instantly distracted by the shiney metallic wrapping on the mints by the register. He picked one up and held it up to the light, swirling it around and watching the light bounce off of it. Placing it back in the basket, he stared at its shineyness, distracted.

"Can I help you?"

Demyx jumped and looked up. He was instantly lost in an endless sea of bright emerald green, glittering with instensity and curiosity. Framing the purest green diamonds was unruly crimson, sticking out in smooth, chunky spikes. It took him the length of heartbeat to realize he was gazing at the beautiful face of the tall soccer player from that morning.

Now what was his name again?

He opened his mouth, desperate to speak, to say something, _anything_, but only managed a small squeak. His knees suddenly went weak and he nearly fainted when the tall, handsome cashier behind the counter smiled at him, repeating his question. "Can I help you?"

"...uh...um, I...uh..." The blonde tripped over his words, his thoughts going in cyclic loops that all began with _he_ and ended with _beautiful_. "...frappucino."

The redhead smiled again and laughed softly. It was the most marvelous thing to ever reach Demyx's ears. "We have a lot of those. Which kind did you want?"

"Um. I. Uh..." Demyx looked up at the menu behind that gorgeous head of hair frantically, then back at those green eyes. The words blended together and it all looked like complete gibberish to him. All he could comprehend was _green_. "...Green Tea."

He smiled that damn beautiful smile again. "Okay. Coming right up..." he punched in the order at the register, and the total appeared on the small screen above it, in green letters. Another smile spread across his perfect face, and he glanced up at the nervous, shaking blonde in front of him with those eyes of his. "...Demyx."

He nearly fainted. He was sure he had, until he realized he was still standing up. The way his awkward, hard-to-pronounce name had rolled off of the redhead's tounge made it sound like beautiful music. He flushed bright red, like his hair, and fumbled for his wallet in his pocket. With shaky, jittery fingers he managed to yank out a five-dollar bill. When he held it out to the beautiful cashier, his insides turned to mush.

His hand was on his.

And he was still smiling that heart-stopping smile.

"Don't worry about it. This one's on me."

Demyx's heart skipped about a thousand beats and he nearly collapsed. His face still flushed bright red, he shoved his money back into his wallet and stuffed it in a pocket somewhere on his pants. He spun around on his heel and pretended to be interested in the various sizes and types of coffee mugs they sold, trying to hide the obvious blush on his cheeks. He picked one up and looked at the design, but quickly realized it was green and the pattern looked like his eyes. Frantic, he went to set it down, but ended up knocking over the entire row onto the floor in the process.

Behind him, Axel was still smiling and shook his head.

He had no idea what he was doing. In all his life, he had never felt this way, about anyone. He had never been so head over heels so fast for any one person every before. He knew nothing about this "Demyx", only that he was _so damn adorable_ and he blushed a lot and made Axel's heart pound. The second he had looked into Demyx's eyes, something inside of him snapped back into place. And he could suddenly remember what it was like to be happy.

He barely even recognized himself as his fingers shook with excitement, nearly spilling the entire beverage all over the floors he had just recently mopped. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but he liked it. He had said things to that captivating blonde he had never said nor even thought about anyone else. He could feel his heart pointing in his chest, his hands slippery with sweat, his mind spinning in circles; he could feel himself _living_ for the first time in his life.

All of the shit he put up with at home suddenly felt like a dream, one he was forgetting more and more. All of the pain he had felt, emotionally and physically, suddenly disappeared. In that one glance, that one second of gazing into endless blue, Axel saw his entire life in front of him, and right next to it was the life he could have. A life where he was _happy_.

He didn't understand it. He didn't _have _to understand. But he wanted it, and he wanted it bad.

His fingers were shaky and jittery as he topped the green beverage with whipped cream and wrote on the cup in black Sharpie. He almost threw it away and started all over when he realized what he had done. But deep inside of him, something told him to leave it be. Something told him this was right. And that it would change everything.

He had no idea how right he was.

Demyx heard his name in that sweet, melodious voice, and shuffled over to the counter. He picked up his Green Tea frappucino, blushing uncontrollably under the redhead's curious, admiring gaze. The perfect writing on the side caught his eye, and he turned his cup to read it. Instead of his own name, there was a phone number and the single, beautiful word: "Axel".  
_  
"I'm Axel," the redhead said, holding out his hand. Demyx looked at it before taking it into his and shaking it. He smiled back at him and replied, "Demyx." Axel stared into Demyx's eyes for a few seconds, before he whispered in a barely audible voice, "You have beautiful eyes, Demyx."  
__  
_The blonde looked back up at Axel, who was still smiling at him with the same smile he had greeted him with that morning. The black name tag pinned to his _green_ apron with the Starbucks emblem on it stuck out at him like a sore thumb. His voice was smooth as black silk as he murmured, "You. Me. Dinner. This Saturday?"

He didn't quite realize had just asked the blonde out. He was ready to take it back and hide behind the counter with a large cardboard box over his head. But then Demyx blushed, his cheeks pink with nervousness and his fingers jittery with excitement, and Axel wanted it more than anything.

"S-s-sure," Demyx mumbled, tripping over his words. He had broke out into a sweat and his cold coffee beverage had begun to condense in his hand. "...I-I-I'll c-call you..."

Axel smiled warmly, revealing a set of perfect, pristine teeth. It was beautiful. _He_ was beautiful.

"I'd like that."

* * *

..»**A/N:** I would like to apologize about the shortness of the chapters :( I would like to make them longer, but this story needs to be experienced in a certain way, and pushing too much into a chapter would move the story too fast. Right now, we're in the slow, awkward, confusing start of their relationship. Once we get a in a little deeper, things will start moving faster and the roller coaster will begin. :)


	4. Chapter 4

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 4  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication:** to krazy-wit-a-k, because your review inspired this chapter :)

* * *

  
"Okay. What is it?" Roxas narrowed his eyes menacingly at his best friend who, for some unthinkable reason, was _humming_ to himself. Axel never hummed.

The redhead jumped as if he had been shocked and looked up at Roxas, terrified. "What's what?"

"You. You're humming," the blonde informed him as-a-matter-of-factly. "You _never_ hum. People hum when they're happy. And you're never happy."

Axel smiled and ran a hand through his hair, twirling his pencil idly. "Well...you see...I, I kinda met someone today..."

Roxas raised an interested eyebrow, smiling slightly. "Really. This is interesting. What's his name?"

"Demyx," Axel replied. He thought about the name as he said it, making sure each syllable came out correctly. The blonde's perfect face suddenly came into mind, and he was smiling again. Roxas gave him a skeptical smile, unable to hold back how happy he was that Axel was finally happy. If one meeting could do this to the redhead, this 'Demyx' character was certainly promising. Axel thought about it, then said, "Well...I _technically_ met him yesterday...but I _talked_ to him today."

"Man, you just met him and already you're acting like such a girl," his blonde friend said with a roll of his eyes. He sipped his frappucino, shaking his head. "Wait 'till Riku hears about this one."

Axel rolled his eyes and glared at his best friend out of the corner of his eye.

Roxas laughed. "Relax. Riku will have a way of figuring it out anyway." Axel nodded, idly doodling on his homework. He realized he was drawing Demyx again, and blushed a soft pink. "When I looked at him..." he paused, drawing in that messy, whispy blonde hair. "...I can't explain what happened. I, like...I saw two versions of myself..." he carefully drew in the shape of Demyx's eyes as they smiled at him. "...and one of them was _really _happy."

Roxas watched as Axel drew him out carefully, slowly, almost lovingly. He glanced back up at his best friend, and saw a light in his eyes that had been absent for so long. The corners of his lips were tugged slightly in a soft smile. The immediate effect of the person Axel was drawing left Roxas dumbfounded. While seemingly short, in the years Roxas had known his best friend, nothing had affected him in such a dramatic, emotional way that swept him up in a whirlwind in an instant.

"So," Roxas said, peering over Axel's hand at the drawing. "Have you asked him out yet?"

The blonde caught Axel giving him an embarrassed smile, then replied, "...yeah."

Roxas smiled back at him. "How'd you do it?"

"I gave him my number on the back of his Starbucks cup," Axel mumbled in reply. Next to him, Roxas's eyebrows raised surprised. "Really? Now _this _is interesting."

Just as Roxas was going to pry into the meat of the conversation, his phone vibrated in his pocket. His mom had pulled up outside Axel's house, just before Axel's dad came home from work and started up his usual drunken-rage. The two friends bade each other farewell, and Roxas left Axel to his drawing.

The redhead glanced over at his own phone on the table beside him.

He had been anxiously awaiting a call from the blonde who had mesmerized him all day. Part of him was beginning to worry if Demyx had lost interest in him, or was even interested in him at all. He started wondering if Demyx forgot, and thrown away the cup from hours earlier. He figured he had, it was just a stupid Starbucks cup afterall, and there were probably plenty of other guys he could be interested in (wait, did he even _like_ guys?), or maybe he--

Axel's breath caught and his heart skipped several thousand beats when his phone rang.

* * *

Demyx's thumb hovered over the "TALK" button shakily. He stared at the screen with Axel's number on it, then looked back at the Starbucks cup sitting on his bed. His heart was pounding in his throat and ears. He had been sitting here for exactly thirty-two minutes, debating over whether he should call him. His mind went in circles, from a confident arc then straight down to a nervous pit of doubt. His thumb fiddled with the green button and almost pushed it down, but he quickly stopped himself.

Behind him, Luxord rolled his eyes and groaned audibly. "Sheesh, just call him already! You're giving _me _a headache!"

Demyx jumped, surprised, and spun around to see his older brother giving him an annoyed look and rolling his eyes. The younger blonde turned several shades of red and pointed at him accusingly. "W-what are you doing here?!"

Luxord shrugged, tugging at a string on Demyx's guitar sitting idly by his bed. "You've been in here for like half an hour and haven't made a sound. Usually you're making _some_ kind of noise."

"...how long were you standing there?"

"Long enough," his brother replied, picking up a pillow beside him and throwing at Demyx. He caught it easily, but lost his balance and fell over backwards onto the floor. Luxord burst into laughter, gripping onto the headboard for support. Demyx glared at him from the floor, then scrambled back onto his bed when he saw his brother's hand reaching for the Starbucks cup. Before his finger landed on it, Demyx snatched it away. Luxord rolled his eyes and turned around, calling over his shoulder, "Hurry up and call him!"

When Luxord had shut the door behind him, Demyx went back to nervously staring at his screen. He glanced back at the cup, scruntinizing the numbers a final time. As weakly and gently as possible, he pressed down on the green button on his phone. He nearly panicked when he realized he had actually pressed it.

He was tempted to just hang up. He figured he had somehow mutilated the numbers and they weren't the ones Axel had written down. He was sure Axel wasn't interested in him in the slightest bit. He almost pulled his phone away from his ear and slammed it shut. He--

"H-hello?"

Oh, oh, _oh_. Now what?

"...um...hi."

Demyx could almost hear him smile on the other end. Axel's stomach tightened with nervous excitement. His fingers automatically gripped the hem of his shirt, shaking. His heart pounded in his ears. He couldn't form a coherent thought; he was still in utter shock of Demyx actually _calling_ him and could barely even squeak. All he could muster was, "Is that you, Demyx?"

"Y-yeah," the blonde replied, smiling himself as he gripped onto his jeans nervously. His toes curled and he couldn't breathe. "It's me."

"I was starting to wonder if you'd forgotten about me," Axel said, his voice soft and velvety. Even over the phone, he had the ability to make Demyx melt. The blonde was more than ready to collapse against his pillows and listen to the redhead whisper beautiful things to him in that wonderful, soothing voice of his.

"N-no, I didn't," Demyx replied. "Well, obviously I didn't, since I called you and all and--" he stopped himself, releasing he was starting to ramble. "...sorry. I kinda started rambling..."

Axel smiled again. It was all his mouth was capable of; hearing Demyx's voice on the other end disabled his frowning function. "It's okay. It's better than the usual monosyllabic responses."

"Heh, sorry about that..." Demyx scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. On the other end, Axel chuckled and could almost hear the blush that creeped across Demyx's cheeks. "Don't worry about it...I like it."

Demyx could have sworn he had died and gone to heaven; it was the only place such a person could exist.

"Tell me about yourself," Axel murmured, flopping down on the couch in the living room nearby. "Tell me everything."

"E-everything?" Demyx gulped. There wasn't much to say; he liked music and swimming and sleeping and those weird prizes stuffed inside cereal boxes. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He heard Axel laugh softly, and say, "Alright, I can start. What...is your...favorite color?"

He knew that was a lame way to start; it was so stereotypical to ask, but it was better than nothing. It was _something_, something about Demyx, and anything about him, Axel wanted to know. Just within three meetings of him, the redhead already wanted to know everything about the blonde that captivated him so.

Demyx smiled a little, and replied, "Blue, like water...what's yours?"

"Red," he answered, smiling. "Like fire." They were polar opposites, like yin and yang, and deep in his heart, the idea that they were meant for each other made Axel's stomach turn with excitement. He paused before saying, "Okay, your turn."

"Okay, um..." Demyx thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you...have any hobbies or something?"

Axel remembered his drawing of Demyx on his biology notes and blushed a soft crimson. He wouldn't go into _that_ much detail. "Yeah...I like drawing. And art in general."

Demyx pictured him seated at an easel, painting a beautiful sunset full of golds, pinks, purples, and blues. The thought of it made his insides turn to mush and he nearly fainted at how _happy_ he was just imagining it. His mind started to wander and he imagined Axel painting Demyx himself, posing for him, nak--

He stopped his wandering mind and stammered, "Really? Wow..."

"Yeah," Axel blushed, embarrassed at Demyx's wonder. (Secretly, however, he had been imagining the same thing Demyx did.) "...what about you?"

"Oh, I like music..." the blonde mumbled. He felt so inferior compared to Axel; his musical talents couldn't possibly match up to artistic talents, especially such talents that inspired posing nude for someone he just met. "I...can play the guitar and the piano, and I can sort of sing, and--"

"Could you sing for me?"

Demyx blinked. "W-what?"

Axel smiled and repeated, "Could you sing for me?"

"R-right now?"

"No, of course not," Axel replied with another smile. "I mean...just sometime. Anytime. I don't care. Just...just once?"

Demyx felt the corners of his lips curling up in a happy grin. "...sure. I'd...I'd really like that. But you have to draw me something first."

"Okay," Axel agreed, pulling his sketchbook out of his backpack that lay beside him on the floor. He flipped to a random page, glowing with a radiant smile, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Oh, um, I don't know..." Demyx thought about it, but he wasn't sure he had actually had something in mind for Axel _to _draw when he asked him to. "Something...different. Something you don't see everyday."

Axel knew exactly what he would do. He smiled and said okay, picturing his vision in his head and beginning to map it out on the page. He told Demyx to just start talking, about anything, and the blonde complied, confused. He talked about how the sky was blue, about how the pool at school was too chlorinated and they can't hire someone to chlorinate it properly because they're cheap, about his favorite chords to play and the difficult songs his grandmother had made him play on the piano when he was little before she died of excitement driving over a hundred miles an hour, about the random prizes they stick cereal boxes, about anything. Axel listened to all of it as if it were background music and drew it all into the drawing for Demyx.

"I'm almost done," Axel mumured idly, erasing a few lines here and there. Demyx blinked, surprised, and asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," Axel replied, smiling. He skipped around to the bottom right corner of the page, and signed his name with several flourishes underneath. "So this means you'll have to sing for me on Saturday."

Demyx's heart skipped a beat. He nearly gasped when he realized he was going on a _date_ with this amazing person this coming Saturday. His eyes flickered over to his mess of a closet, and he began panicking over what he should wear. He knew Luxord wouldn't let him out of the house without first consulting him and his self-proclaimed expertise in fashion. Which, really, amounted to paring a t-shirt with some of ripped jeans. He was doomed.

"Y-yeah," Demyx replied, examining the shirts poking out from the mess in his closet. "...anything in particular?"

"Um, no..." Axel replied with a blush. He felt so childish and stupid; but he couldn't help it. Demyx's voice was so soft and soothing and he could ask him anything he wanted, knowing he'd get a soft, beautiful response, even if it was jumbled nonsense. "Just...something."

Demyx smiled, and replied, "Okay."

* * *

..»**A/N:** I'm unsure of Axel's age; he won't tell me. I think he is fifteen, and he has _somehow_ acquired a driver's license. For the sake of simplicity, let's all play along with Axel's little game, shall we?


	5. Chapter 5

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 5  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication****: **to AetherBox, because you indulged Demyx's fantasies of posing for Axel naked :)

* * *

  
Axel caught himself humming in the bathroom mirror, and blushed softly, embarrassed at himself. It was that same melody he was unfamiliar with, but someghow knew by heart. He replayed the subconcious tune in his head, carefully going over each sound, trying to determine the source. A soft laughter and pair of ocean blue eyes in the back of his mind answered his question.

Picturing Demyx's beautiful face reminded the redhead of their hours-long conversation the night before. His smile and blush deepened as remembered Demyx stumbling over his words and stuttering and just generally being adorable. The music of his voice made Axel's heart race twice as fast, and his insides quake with excitement. As he stayed on the phone with the awkward blonde late into the night, he began to wonder when the last time he had been so _happy_ and carefree was. He was slightly crestfallen when he couldn't think of any other time.

His unruly red hair still damp, he scrubbed at it with a towel as he drifted back into his room, dazed. He laid eyes on the drawing he had done the night before as Demyx rambled on about the sky and pools and guitars and pianos and those random prizes they stick in cereal boxes. He remembered every word Demyx had mumbled to him that night. And he had woven every random thing he had talked about into the drawing. His insides turned to mush and he realized he was presenting it to Demyx today.

Drowning out the verbal abuse was easier. He, instead, imagined it was Demyx, and the blonde was whispering beautiful things to him. He smiled softly, blushing, and hurried out the door before he began grinning like a madman and turning the color of his hair.

* * *

Demyx was shoving his textbooks into his clogged backpack (much in vain) and digging through his mess of binders is his locker when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He had been expecting Zexion and turned easily, flashing a friendly smile. His heart leaped out of his chest, however, when he met a pair of alluring green eyes framed by a mane of unruly red hair. He gasped slightly, and smiled at the tall soccer player, trying (also in vain) to hide the blush creeping across his cheeks.

"...h-hi, Axel," Demyx mumbled, nervously. His heart was beating twice as fast and his stomach was doing summersaults. He glanced up at those eyes once more, and he couldn't think. Or breathe.

"Hey..." Axel breathed, his hands shaking. Those beautiful blue eyes had captured him, and they refused to release him. The redhead was fine with that.

The warning bell rang, signaling another two minutes before the late bell rang. Demyx couldn't make it to his next class in two minutes unless he _ran_; but the blonde couldn't move. Not now, when he was standing so close to him that he could feel his breath on his face and _smell_ that delicious cologne he was wearing mixed with the fiery scent exuding from his skin. He breathed in again and was overwhelmed by the unbearably tempting scent of his shampoo. His hair was probably freshly-washed, which meant he had probably showered that morning, and _that_ probably meant he had steaming hot water running down his beautiful, naked--

"I have something for you." Luckily for Demyx, Axel's melodious voice interrupted his unrestrained daydreaming. He blinked and came back to reality, watching as Axel began digging in his own mess of a backpack for something. He smiled and turned a soft pink as he pulled out a piece of rolled up paper secured with a rubber band. Demyx's shaky fingers took it from Axel's _warm_ hands and pulled off the rubber band. His heart stopped when he unrolled the paper.

Before his eyes was a drawing of _him_, playing his guitar.

Demyx gasped and hid behind the drawing, pretending to examine it, to hide his tears. He heard Axel's beautiful, soft laugh and couldn't form a coherent thought.

He blinked away the tears of joy that nearly streamed down his cheeks and actually looked at the drawing in his hands. There was so much to absorb, he had to study it and really look at it. His drawing-self was wearing a t-shirt with an ocean wave on it washing against a piano as sheet music blew away in the wind. In the background was a bright sun and fluffy white clouds, one of which looked like a car and another that looked like a guitar, and one hidden in the corner that looked like one of those random cereal box prizes. The guitar in his hands glittered and shined, with more water detailing from the neck down.

It took Demyx the length of a heartbeat to realize the things in the drawing were the random things he had told Axel about the night before.

He gazed up at the artist before him, his lips parted in awe and surprise, and whispered softly, "...this is for _me_...?"

Axel smiled that dazzling, heart-stopping smile of his and nodded. He ran a hand through that beautiful mane of his and blushed a soft scarlet. "Yeah...I did it last night. Well, you _know_ I did it last night, because I told you...I, uh...d-do you like it?"

Demyx smiled a wide smile unconciously and nodded, suddenly worried that he had caused Axel to doubt himself. "Yeah, of course! I love it! It's just...I..." He looked back down at the drawing, then whispered, "I...I don't know what to say..."

He forgot how to breath when he heard Axel's voice murmuring close to him, "You don't have to say anything."

Demyx smiled a sly smile, and glanced up at him, remarking cleverly, "...didn't I tell you to draw me something different, and interesting?"

Axel cocked his head to the side confused, then smiled and murmured a beautiful reply in his velvety soft voice. His sparkling green eyes glittered with an inner fire and deep affection as they gazed affectionately into Demyx's impossibly deep blue orbs. The blonde felt his heart pound uncontrollably as that admiring gaze stared directly into his soul and made him shudder.

"I did."

* * *

Axel untied his right cleat and slipped it off his aching foot. His mind wandered and he remembered that morning, when he had presented his drawing to Demyx. He smiled and his heart thrashed wildly against his rib cage as he pictured the blonde's beautiful smile and his eyes rimmed with tears. His cheeks flushed a soft pink as he finished untying his other shoe. He had his left shoe off his foot when Riku came up next to him, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. Axel eyed him curiously as he finished tying his cleat and stood up. He raised an eyebrow at his best friend and asked, "What?"

Riku smiled even wider. His aquamarine eyes sparkled with an inner excitement Axel didn't recognize. He smiled still and he shook his head. "I heard you met someone."

Just a far-fetched reference to Demyx made his heart pound. He pictured Demyx's sweet, innocent smile, and that irresistible shade of red he turned whenever he was embarrassed. He caught himself smiling softly, but immediately replaced it with a sly one. Unbeknownst to him, however, Riku had already caught that smile. He began to wonder wildly why in the name of Ansem the Wise Roxas had told Riku about Demyx, and what kind of crazy thoughts must be racing through Riku's head, and--

"Axel," Riku interrupted his racing throughts. He smiled genuinely at him and said, "Tell me everything."

The redhead smiled at his silver-haired friend and sad back down on the bench between the rows of lockers. Riku sat down next to him, and Axel was overwhelmed by how _happy_ he was just thinking about Demyx. His heart pounded in his ears and he beamed happily. Beside him, Riku could have sworn Axel was glowing.

The redhead began with how they met, and he noticed a triumphant smile dancing on Riku's lips, but kept going. Everything from giving Demyx his number on the blonde's Starbucks cup to their conversation the night before lasting until one in the morning. As he spoke, he began remembering small, random details about Demyx, how he felt when he talked to him and heard his voice, the acceleration of his heart whenever he thought of him, how his stomach turned in knots and his palms sweated when he gazed into his eyes.

Riku mentally noted how big and beautiful Axel's smile was everytime he said Demyx's name.

The two had met as kids when they both played foward on the county soccer team. Riku remembered things being better then; not just because he was a little kid, and all kids think everything is great, but because he remembered Axel smiling and laughing more. Looking back now, he could pinpoint the reason that was. Axel's mom had been there on the sidelines, screaming and cheering whenever her bright red hairball scored a goal, and bringing after-game snacks and drinks for the entire team. Riku remembered Axel's dad smiling, too; he remembered a happy story.

Axel had always been the star. He was a prodigy in everything he did. Riku had followed a similar suit, though not quite to Axel's extent. Their natural talents combined with unbreakable optimism is what had drew them to each other as small five-year-olds, and kept their friendship alive over the past ten years.

Then, of course, Axel's life went to hell. His mom walked out one day and never came back and Axel sank into depression. Riku had watched from a distance, as Roxas had entered Axel's life as Sora had Riku's, and they weren't as closely knit as they had in the past. But Riku knew Axel, and he knew something wasn't right when his best friend didn't smile or didn't laugh, even at Sora's stupid pirate jokes. A few months later, Riku began to notice the bruises. Shortly followed was the excessive amount of alcohol at Axel's house Riku saw everytime he went over. Riku never said anything to Axel about it, but he and Roxas knew.

Over the years, Axel's depression had worsened, and he sank into isolation. Every now and then, the Axel Riku had known all those years ago came out with a small smile or a soft chuckle. For the most part, however, Axel remained silent, and he didn't laugh or smile. Riku knew it had reached an all-time low when Axel quit soccer over the summer, just before entering high school, and just after capturing the attention of the varsity coach at their high school.

Riku knew Axel. And if Axel was smiling uncontrollably, something very, _very_ good was happening to him.

Axel idly kicked his beat-up cleats back and forth. The corners of his lips touched the corners of his eyes as he smiled wide and beautiful. Those alluring green eyes that had for so long held despair and impenetrable sadness were glowing with _life_, an intense fire burning deep within their depths that had been absent for years. A soft shade of pink colored his cheeks, just barely enough to be noticeable. As Riku watched his best friend glow and radiate happiness, he could see the redhead he had known years and years ago.

His eyes glowing with the rekindled fire deep within his heart, the redhead glanced up at his silver-haired best friend. Riku's heart swelled with relief when he saw the smile still lingering on Axel's lips.

"I'm crazy, aren't I...?" Axel's voice trailed off as he lost himself in thought, considering what it was he had just told Riku. Riku smiled back at him and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're pretty twisted."

Riku chuckled softly when Axel punched him in the arm and laughed to himself. "You weren't supposed to answer that, you know."

Beside him, his best friend of so many years nodded and his smile deepened. "Yeah, but I did anyway." He paused carefully, before giving Axel's shoulders a friendly shove. "I have to meet this guy. I've _never _seen you this happy, ever."

Axel smiled and continued to kick his cleat from one foot to the other. "That's funny, Roxas said the same thing."

* * *

Demyx shooks his wet hair out and scrubbed it dry with a towel. Beside him, Zexion used his textbook as a shield from the brief shower raining from Demyx's hair. The blonde beside him smiled at him, throwing the towel in his best friend's face. The usually stoic and unfeeling Zexion broke out into a smile and, rolling his eyes, threw the towel back.

Throwing his wet duffel bag into his locker, Demyx caught sight of the drawing he had been given hours earlier. In particular, he had found Axel's signature and the various flourishes underneath, including the hidden heart he had thrown in. A soft crimson crept across his cheeks and warmed his ears. With a shaky hand, Demyx pulled it out and looked upon it once more. Over his shoulder, Zexion peered interestedly. He smiled a soft smile Demyx remained completely oblivious to.

In the short years the two had known each other, Zexion couldn't remember a time when Demyx smiled more. If he hadn't been optimistic and hopeful all the time before meeting this mysterious artist, he certainly was now. Every second Zexion had spent with Demyx over the past two days, the blonde was glowing with excitement and the most beautiful smile to ever grace human lips.

Such a sight would have been utterly impossible two years ago, after the infamously rough breakup between him and his long time love, Tidus. Tidus had been a year younger than Demyx, but that hadn't mattered; at the time, they were inseperable. Tidus loved the water and swimming and random prizes in cereal boxes as much as Demyx did. It had been only natural for them to get together, with their matching personalities and appearances, they were each other's long lost love. They constantly pushed each other to be better than the other, whilst they were each other's biggest fans. Demyx had been so in love and so blind to the truth, the terrible, terrible truth about his beloved Tidus.

When all was said and done, when they had broken up after a bitter fight stained with tears and a broken heart, Demyx swore he would never love again. He swore he would never let himself fall for anyone, _especially_ not a dirty, lying cheater like Tidus. He would never allow himself to be so blind to the after-school hookups in the darkened locker rooms with various members of both sexes, hookups that usually resulted in the loss of Tidus's virtue. Demyx had walked in on the wrong scene on the wrong day, and learned just how terribly _wrong_ Tidus had been for him.

Zexion hadn't been certain if Demyx was going to be able to recover. His heart had been torn and mangled and destroyed by the most violent of beasts, and stitching the pieces back together was far easier said than done. It broke Zexion's heart to watch Demyx cry and scream day after painful day, and he wanted desperately for some type of relief to console his best friend in the entire world. As the months went by, and Tidus eventually disappeared, things became easier for Demyx. And pretty soon, he was back to his smiling, laughing, cheerful self.

What Zexion hadn't been expecting, however, was Axel.

Demyx had been so sure he was done with love. He had been very adamant about it, and had verbally refused to let himself become attached to anyone. Zexion knew Demyx wasn't _completely_ telling the truth, just because of his affectionate and caring nature, but didn't try to convince him otherwise. He had been so careful and avoided situations with anyone he felt the slightest bit attraction to, just to be sure. And Zexion had begun to wonder if Demyx really _had_ been telling the truth.

Then, one breezy Wednesday afternoon (yesterday to be exact), Demyx came bouncing along with the deepest blush and widest smile Zexion had ever seen. He had just happened to be partaking in a rather delicious roll of sushi when Demyx suddenly sat down in front of him with a carefully concealed Starbucks cup. Luxord had eyed him curiously from the long line of sushi addicts as Demyx fingered the cup nervously, turning it around for Zexion to see. His violet eyebrows had shot up past his hairline, and he looked up at his blonde best friend blushing a deep crimson with a deep smile to match.

As he stood there watching Demyx trace over dark pencil lines and soft shading, watching his eyes continue to glow brighter with every passing second, Zexion knew Demyx hadn't been telling him the truth.

* * *

Still dazed from daydreaming about Demyx wearing nothing but a sheet carelessly draped over his deliciously naked form, Axel lazily meandered through his front door with a dazzled smile on his face. He was completely oblivious to his father sprawled out across the couch surrounded by empty bottles and the currently half-depleted bottle he was nursing. The drunken man raised an eyebrow, and asked in a gruff voice, "Where were you, boy?"

The redhead nearly jumped out of his skin and turned, surprised to see his father there. He usually was at work at this time of day, and did not arrive until late in the afternoon. It provided Axel with _some_ time, even if only a little, to escape from the torturous life he had grown enured to. His father being here instead of at work made Axel's hopes of some peace come crashing down.

Axel swallowed hard, shutting the door quietly behind him. His mind was racing and his heart was beating three times its normal speed. His backpack slipped off his shoulder and he caught it easily in his hand, despite it suddenly feeling like it had cinderblocks inside. His father was staring at him expectantly and starting to stand up. Axel began to panic and searched his suddenly blank mind for an answer. He panicked further when he realized he didn't have one.

His backpack dropped on the floor and its contents scattered across the tiled foyer. His father had stood up and was walking towards him, removing his belt from his jeans and taking it into both of his hands. Axel tried to back up when he realized there was a wall behind him, and he couldn't go any further. The belt was raised above his father's head, and Axel's eyes widened, a terrified gasp catching in his throat. He crumbled into a ball on the floor and squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he could.

But blocking out the burn of the belt on his back was next to impossible.

A thousand thousand lashes later and his father staggered away into the back part of the house, disappearing into his bedroom. Axel gripped the wall beside him in his weak fingers and struggled to stand up. He gasped for air and his legs wobbled underneath him, making everything difficult. Reaching out to everything within his grasp, he leaned on tabletops and walls for support as he limped along miserably. His eyes blurred with tears, he somehow managed to drag his beaten body into his room, and collapsed on his bed.

He shook as he sobbed, his face burried in his pillow and his fists gripping his sheets. How had his entire life come crashing down in an instant? Everything was wrong: his once caring and loving father was nothing but a cursing, angry drunk and beat his only child, his only son, to a bloody pulp almost everytime he laid eyes on him. His mother had fallen off the face of the Earth, and had never once made an attempt to contact her only son to let him know what was going on and why she left. His body screamed and ached every night and every morning from the burn and sting of the belt on his skin. The abuse he was enduring had become so damn obvious that even Riku, whom he hadn't spoken to much in over a year, had taken notice. And if he had noticed, then the chances of Demyx finding out--

Demyx.

'_Demyx...'_

The blonde's face and impossibly beautiful eyes smiled at him. His melodious laughter filled Axel's ears down to his very soul, causing his heart to race and his stomach to turn wildly. The memory of him waved a Axel and his smile deepened as he turned a soft shade of pink.

A tear leaked from his eye and the corners of his lips curled upward slightly in a soft smile.

* * *

--------------------------------------------  
GASP! has fanfiction allowed normal scene breakers again?


	6. Chapter 6

..»You Found Me  
..»Chapter 6  
..»By: ONiONLADi777  
..»Read and Reviewed by Lavender341 (thanks Nikki!)  
..»**Dedication: **to...myself! XD  
..»**A/N:** A word of warning: this chapter is very, very fluffy and very, very gushy. Have fun XD

* * *

Axel looked at the choices before him and sighed.

Since when was this so complicated? His father had made it look so easy all those years ago; his mother had loved anything his dad gave her, especially if they were colorful and fit in one of the thousand vases she had hidden in every corner of the house. All he had to do was show up with them one day after work and her day was instantly better.

But then again, his mother was, in fact, a _woman_. Although gay as sunshine, Demyx was most certainly _not_ a woman.

With another sigh, Axel scratched his head and looked over the selection again. Didn't these have some kind of meaning? The type, the color, the arrangement..it all _meant_ something. Something hidden. He didn't want to hide, but he didn't want to seem too straightforward. He wanted Demyx to think a little and and guess at his intentions, but he also wanted to show he cared. And that he was he was absolutely nuts about the guy.

The redhead turned around and looked a little more. His eyes scanned the arrangements around him, rejecting the ones that had clashing colors or failed attempts at complementary colors.

And then he saw them, big and yellow and hidden away behind all of the obnoxious arrangements. With a pleased smile, he walked over and inspected them thoroughly.

His heart pounding in his chest, he picked them up, paid for them, and was on his way.

* * *

Demyx stared at the clock in horror.

Somehow he had lost track of the days. The last thing he knew, it was Thursday morning and this _redhead_ had come along with a drawing of sorts that had made him blush and nearly cry and all those other gushy things. He didn't even remember the rest of that day or Friday even occuring at all. Now it was five thirty on Saturday night and Axel was coming to get him in half an hour and he had nothing to wear.

He let out a distressed shriek as he rummaged through his closet. What in the world was he _supposed_ to wear? Where was Axel even taking him? He suddenly didn't know anything about how to properly dress himself. Panicking, he pulled out his cell phone and called Zexion as he tore all of his shirts off their hangers and inspected them for dirt, drool spots, or any other sort of debris Demyx somehow encountered on a daily basis. He dared another look at the clock behind him and let out another shriek. Five thirty-seven.

Thank Ansem the Wise, Zexion finally answered. "Hello?"

"Zexion!!!" Demyx screamed into the phone. Said freshman held his phone away from his ear, flinching at Demyx's loud cry of distress, then slowly returned it to the side of his face. "Hello to you, too, Demyx. What seems to be the problem?"

Zexion blinked calmly as Demyx rambled something that sounded sort of like Axel was going to arrive in less than thirty minutes and he had nothing to wear and he forgot how to dress himself and--Zexion wasn't entirely sure about this one--Demyx wanted a taco to help him think even if he secretly thought tacos made him look fat. Zexion sighed at his best friend and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Demyx, calm down. It's a _date_, not an execution."

"That's not the point!!" Demyx cried frantically. "I mean, _seriously_, I don't have a fucking clue about what I should wear! What do I look like, a fucking _fashion_ magazine?!!"

"Your brother does," Zexion replied, idly balancing chemical equations in his notebook and blowing a stray piece of violet hair out of his eyes. Demyx was about to scream in protest when he realized that Zexion was right and his brother _was _indeed a fashion magazine. Demyx could hear Zexion chuckling at his own brilliance and his best friend's blissful ignorance. The blonde made a face and shrieked angrily at his best friend, mumbling his good bye and slamming his phone shut. Zexion, meanwhile, continued to laugh to himself and balance his chemical equations.

Just as Demyx turned around to seek out Luxord, he nearly collided with his older (and far more gay) brother. Demyx shrieked again, nearly losing his balance and falling over when Luxord pushed him out of the way. He could hear Luxord groan as he studied Demyx's half-full closet and the other half that had landed on the floor, muttering, "My _God_, you are hopeless."

Had Demyx not been panicked and nervous and down right _excited_ out of his mind, he would have found some type of lame response to Luxord's griping.

Instead, he settled for catching the clothes that Luxord was haphazardly throwing to him over his shoulder and putting them on in the order his brother instructed. By the time Demyx had finished pulling on his jeans, Luxord had left the room and his magic was complete. Demyx looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked at how _put-together _he looked. He was relieved when he realized he didn't look like he was half asleep like he usually did.

That was, of course, until he looked at his hair.

Luxord nearly choked on the sushi roll he was so delicately shovelling into his mouth when he heard his younger (and obviously less gay) brother shriek. Yet again.

With an angry groan, Luxord rose from his favorite spot on his couch, nearly spilling his leftover sushi from Wednesday all over the living room floor. When he rounded the corner into Demyx's bathroom, he nearly yelped in horror when he saw Demyx's hands covered in gobs of blue hair cement and headed straight for his blonde locks. He grabbed his brother's wrists, receiving a surprised cry, and held them under the faucet as he turned on the water. Luxord rolled his eyes at his poor, incompetent brother.

Demyx was forcibly seated upon the toilet with Luxord hovering over him, armed with a flat iron and significantly less blue styling gel.

His fingers fidgetted nervously and his toes curled tight inside of his socks. Surely it must have been after five-fifty by now. He wasn't sure which he was more afraid of; of Axel arriving and being absolutely _perfect_ and everything he dreamed of and more, or of himself being a complete idiot and screwing everything up.

Of course, he _wanted_ Axel to be perfect and dreamlike and everything else, but a small still-broken piece of his heart kept reminding him of Tidus. Of how _Tidus_ had been perfect and dreamlike and everything else, until Demyx learned the terrible, terrible truth about Tidus. He was afraid to open up just the tiniest bit to anyone, even Zexion sometimes. But he could feel that Axel was different. He wasn't sure how or why, but when he looked into Axel's emerald eyes, he could see Axel had once been broken--or was still--at some point in his life. The pain he saw in the redhead's eyes (or hoped he saw, rather) gave him some assurance that he wouldn't go through the heartbreak with him that he went through with Tidus.

...and...what if Axel really _was_ perfect and dreamlike and everything else? What if he answered Demyx's every prayer and fulfilled his every hope? What if he was everything Demyx could ever ask for? What then? Did he reject him, just to save himself from heartbreak, and live his life never knowing what he could have had? Or did he follow his heart, telling him this was the right thing to do, even if it meant he could get his fragile heart broken all over again?

Then again, it was only the first date.

Luxord unplugged the flat iron and wrapped the cord around it. With a final inspection, he deemed Demyx ready.

And just then, there was a firm knock on the door.

Demyx couldn't breathe.

He looked at himself in the mirror, receiving a push towards the bathroom door from Luxord. Looking over his shoulder at his brother, who was smiling at him reassuringly, he continued out into the living room and finally to the front door.

His fingers trembled as he laid them on the doorhandle. In his chest, his heart raced uncontrollably, faster than a wild chocobo. And his lungs still weren't working. Closing his eyes, the blonde took one deep, long breath, and released it very, very slowly. Gripping the doorhandle tightly in his hand, he turned it and swung the door open towards him.

Axel looked up at him, his green eyes bright and glittering, and smiled.

His voice was sweet and soft and everything else perfect. "Hey, Demyx."

"...hi..." The blonde smiled back, dazed, his toes curling again. He blinked, making sure Axel was really here and it wasn't just an illusion. When he didn't disappear or vanish into a cloud of smoke, Demyx released the deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

They stood there like that, neither saying anything, for what felt like an eternity. A perfect eternity. One that consisted solely of Axel and Demyx gazing into each other's eyes, and everything else going on in them and around them melting away into nothing.

Axel scratched the back of his head nervously. "I, um...I got these for you."

He held up a big, bright bouquet of three mammoth sunflowers, their petals yellow as sunshine. Demyx gasped softly, his fingers unconciously covering his trembling lips. His hands shook as he reached out to grasp them. When their fingers touched, both blushed and Demyx hid behind the enormous yellow flowers. Axel smiled at him, pushing the flowers out of the way and leaning closer to him, smiling. Demyx smiled back, his cheeks still glowing crimson, and whispered, "Thank you. They're beautiful."

Demyx pinched himself lightly to make sure he wasn't dreaming when Axel replied, his eyes glittering and beautiful, "Just like you."

He thought he had fainted, just like in Starbucks, until he realized he was still standing up. Smiling back at the redhead, he pushed him lightly, earning a soft laugh. "Oh, you."

Axel's heart stopped when Demyx's hand closed over his own. He glanced down at their joined hands, then back at Demyx. It was Axel's turn to blush. His cheeks flushed pink as Demyx smiled at him and said, "Hey, come inside for a minute. You have to meet my brother."

* * *

Axel couldn't read the menu in front of his face, his hands were shaking so much.

His breath was coming in inconsistent waves. He couldn't slow his racing heart. Glancing up timidly, he saw Demyx smiling softly to himself, biting his lip, as he glanced over the dinner menu. The blonde must have felt the eyes on him, because he looked up, too, and blushed before looking back down.

Axel could barely think. Here he was, sitting in his mother's favorite restuarant from almost ten years ago, with someone he had just met and was completely nuts about. After showing up at his door, Demyx had brought Axel inside and introduced him to his over-protective and overbearing older brother Luxord. It was just the two of them, Demyx had explained on their car ride together, since his parents had died so many years ago and his eldest brother Cloud had left the scene not too long ago. Axel had offered his condolences, but Demyx had smiled and shrugged it off. He also told him that Luxord was, as Axel had surmised, very over protective of his younger brother. Axel took Luxord's smile and bright eyes as a good thing, from the way Demyx had described him on other occasions.

He had walked in, Demyx holding his hand in one of his and holding the sunflowers in the other, and immediately summoned Luxord. Luxord came grumbling around the corner, muttering something about how Demyx had gotten his very blue hair cement all over the sink, and stopped short when he saw Axel. He had raised a blonde eyebrow at him, then stood there and appraised him, taking note of the large yellow sunflowers Demyx was holding onto, then offered his hand and introduced himself. Axel had noticed Demyx smiling and shaking nervously when Axel shook his hand, Luxord smiled at him, and told Demyx to have fun. The glare returned to his face, however, when he looked back at Axel, and instructed the redhead to return him by eleven.

Demyx had told Axel that he had won Luxord over. The equivalent of Demyx's father in Axel's eyes, he was pretty sure that was a very, very good thing.

The blonde had perused Axel's CD collection, and was hesitant about asking if he could put one on for them to listen to. He seemed surprised when Axel smiled and said okay. Demyx must have noticed Axel's confusion, and explained that Luxord hated music because of their parents and because he himself couldn't get the hang of it and-- He had stopped himself short, apologizing for talking too much. Axel laughed and told him it was okay. With another smile, Demyx kept talking.

Little did Axel know, he was the first person to really _listen_ to Demyx.

Looking out the window at the setting sun and twinkling stars, Demyx asked him where they were going. Axel told him it was a restuarant called Radiant Garden. He had been there once before, so many years ago with his mother, but didn't go into any more detail than that. That, however, seemed to satisfy Demyx. He had smiled and said okay and hummed along, singing softly, to the music that was filling the air in Axel's car. Axel had then told him that, if time permitted, he wanted to take him to a movie, if that was okay with Demyx. It was Demyx's turn to laugh and say okay.

Just that twenty-minute ride into downtown to the restuarant had made Axel feel whole; complete. Demyx had filled what had been missing in his life for so many years in so few minutes.

They had been seated immediately, by a window that had a spectacular view of the city lights and lake in the center of the city. It was here Axel presently found himself, staring at Demyx over the top of his menu that he couldn't even read, his hands were shaking so much. He finally managed to read something, the first thing he had been able to focus on all night, and decided he would have that. He didn't care; the only thing of interest to him was sitting across the table from him.

The waiter came by and took their order, delievered their drinks, and left the two to their own devices.

Axel's fingers still shook, nervous and scared and excited, all at the same time.

He swallowed his fear, looked into Demyx's eyes, and said, "...you still never sang for me."

The blush that spread across Demyx's face made Axel smile, satisfied. He laughed, earning another shy look from the blonde across from him, and said, "It's okay, you don't have to now or anything. But I'm still going to hold you to it, since...you know..." His voice trailed off, but Demyx knew exactly what he was talking about. Demyx smiled, and replied, "I wanted to tell you...thank you, again. I love it. I, I hung it in my room..."

Axel's eyebrows raised. "Really? I didn't think I did that good of a job, personally...I mean, I was nervous while I was doing it, and I wasn't satisfied with it, I didn't think it was, y'know...good enough..." He scratched the back of his head, realizing he was rambling. Demyx just smiled and shook his head. "Don't be silly. I love it. I've never gotten anything like that before...it's really special to me."

Axel smiled and felt his cheeks turning pink.

Glancing around, aware of the eyes on him, Axel spotted the crayons near the salt and pepper on the table. It was then that he noticed the paper over the table cloth and smile to himself. Demyx must have caught the smile and gave him a quizzical look. Axel simply looked at him and told him to close his eyes. Confused, Demyx complied.

He was very fast and very precise. He didn't think. Thinking always made him nervous and mess up; he just went with his feelings. Something he hadn't done in, oh, four years now.

"Okay, open your eyes."

He watched, his stomach in knots, as Demyx's eyes fluttered open. The blonde blinked at him a few times, before noticing the blue crayon on the table in between them. A soft smile spread across his face. He reached out, gingerly touching the waxy blue coloring of his own portrait as he studied it. He moved his mouth, trying to form words, but no sound came out. Axel's heart skipped a beat when he wiped his eyes hurriedly and, having regained his voice, said, "...you just did that? Just now?"

Axel smiled and nodded.

"Wow..." Demyx whispered. His fingers still hovered over the drawing. He looked up at Axel, the smile still lingering on his lips. "...can I keep this?"

"O-of course," the redhead replied. It took all of his composure to not blurt out that he already had at least a dozen of Demyx already done in the margins of his notes, homework, etc. A happy smile on the blonde's face, Demyx tore out the center of the paper table cloth, folded it neatly, and stuck it in his pocket. "Thank you...I'll put this next to the other one you gave me."

Axel smiled and said okay.

Demyx brought up the subject of soccer, seeing as that was how they met, and they soon engaged in a conversation much like the one they had shared a few nights ago, the one that lasted hours over the phone. Their food came, and they conversed still, both laughing and smiling and feeling complete bliss for the first time in a long time.

When they had concluded their meal and their plates had been returned to the kitchen, Axel was (extremely) delighted to see the night was still young, and they did indeed have time for a movie. Demyx (also (extremely) delighted) smiled and his eyes lit up with a fire Zexion would have died to see. They briefly discussed what movies were out when the waiter brought out their check and Demyx reached for his wallet.

Axel looked at him seriously. "What do you think you're doing? Put that away. I'm paying."

Demyx shook his head and laughed softly. Axel almost let him pay; he was so enchanted by that laugh. "No way. You already covered a frappucino for me, remember? On Wednesday?"

The redhead smiled and nodded. "Oh yes, I remember. I remember Roxas--" Demyx had only heard of him in passing just tonight, as Axel had heard of Zexion. "--pounding information out of me later that afternoon and calling me a total girl the next day. But seriously, Dem, I'm paying."

Demyx wanted to fall into his arms and never go anywhere else every again. He already had a nickname for him.

"Don't be ridiculous. You put _your_ wallet away."

Axel was about to protest when he caught a _really_ good glimpse of those blue eyes. He could see how determined Demyx was to pay, and he laughed to himself. "Okay, how about this. I'll pay for dinner and you can pay for the movie. Deal?"

He waited as the other pondered this idea. After weighing the options, he smiled and agreed.

* * *

As they stood in line waiting for tickets, they pondered over which movie to see. There was that one movie, Demyx said, about the mad scientist and his six apprentices and their experiments on the human heart that ultimately led to the world's destruction. Axel had wanted to see that one, until he saw the other movie about the guy who had been chosen by some enormous key to save the world from these evil black beings with glowing yellow eyes. Demyx agreed to see the second, as it was more fitting for their--Demyx nearly died thinking the word--_date_.

Axel and Demyx told jokes and stories while they waited, laughing and smiling. The redhead's heart took flight when he felt the softest fingers (with just the right amount of roughness on the edges) rubbing against his. He bit his lip, his cheeks matching his hair, and took Demyx's hand fully into his, lacing their fingers together carefully and gently. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Demyx smiling and tapping his toes together nervously. Axel replied to his fidgeting with a gentle squeeze of his hand, causing the blonde to look up at him and smile even wider.

Once they had gotten their tickets (Axel, much to Demyx's surprise, had slipped the cash in through the window before the blonde even got his wallet out of his pocket), they made their way to the theater, hand in hand. As the movie began to start, Demyx nearly fainted when he felt Axel's arm slip snugly around his shoulders. He was tense at first, nervous and thinking of Tidus and everything else, until he felt Axel's fingertips rubbing his shoulder gently and comfortingly. Axel couldn't have possibly known what was going through Demyx's head, but it certainly felt like he did; the way his fingers were rubbing small circles on the blonde's shoulder slowly removed the doubts and anxiety from his mind. Once Axel had completely erased Demyx's mind of any memory of Tidus, Demyx leaned against Axel's shoulder and allowed himself to relax against him. When he heard the smile spreading across Axel's lips and his cheeks turning bright red, Demyx smiled, too.

The credits began to roll and Demyx's heart fell when he realized their night together was almost over. He looked over at Axel, who was already looking at him, and the two smiled at each other.

Hand in hand once again, the two made their way back to Axel's parked car by the restuarant. They conversed about the movie, about the city lights twinkling above and beyond, about anything and everything. It didn't really matter what the subject of their conversation was; they just talked to each other about whatever. On the drive back, Demyx again perused Axel's vast CD book and selected another one. In the end, however, it wasn't necessary; they continued on about anthing and everything and whatever.

On Demyx's front porch, they stood and laughed some more, their fingers intertwined and twirling around each other's. Eventually, Axel checked his watch, and realized it was five _past_ eleven. Both decided it was time for them to part ways for the night before Luxord came out hunting for them brandishing his flat iron and styling gel. Demyx nearly fainted, squeezing the redhead's hand tighter, when Axel leaned towards him and placed a very soft, very light kiss on the blonde's cheek.

Axel smiled at him, and whispered softly, "I had a really great time tonight, Demyx."

Demyx nodded, unsure of what else to do as he smiled like a mad fool, and somehow managed to mumble, "Y-yeah...m-me, too..."

"I'll see you on Monday, then," Axel concluded, earning another crazed nod from Demyx. They waved and said goodbye, Demyx watching as Axel walked back to his car, got in, and drove away. When he could no longer see the tailights on his car, Demyx opened his front door and raced to his room to call Zexion.


End file.
